Believe, all things are possible

When I first came to be born again of God's Holy Spirit I experienced many things in my life that revealed the absolute power of God and His ability to do that which is not possible for man to do.  Over the years I have still seen so much of God's goodness in not only my own life but in the lives of others too, but I have felt many times that I have been in a battle.  I have always tried to seek God in areas where I have needed help, and feel that I have been shown that there is only one plumbline to go by when seeking counsel, it is the word of God.  If anything is spoken during my time of seeking the Lord on an issue, if advice is given me by other people, whether they be christian or not, I must always go back to check that it is what God is speaking to me.  I truly believe that we can miss out on blessing through not only our own unbelief but other people's.  The daily bread that we each receive from God has the ability to mature us spiritually and if someone has not reached a certain faith level, no matter what 'title' they may have in this world, then they may actually cause you to doubt what God is encouraging you to believe. Yesterday I met a young man who had recentlty become a christian, who was so passionate about his salvation and seeking God's word for guidance it was a pleasure to speak to him.  I came away from him praying that he would never become a lukewarm christian. 

The following is a testimony of an event in my life several years ago that I believe the Lord has brought back to my remembrance to encourage me to persist in seeking his voice, always believing what He is saying to me without doubting, and not watering it down with mans' doctrine or unbelief.

I thought about the dream I'd had, as I lay in bed that morning.  In it I had been walking through a Woolworth store, with a ginger cat in my arms.  First the cat had jumped down and disappeared, and then one by one my clothes had started to disappear from off my body until I was completely naked.  I had a strange feeling that there was a spiritual meaning to the dream, and that God was trying to reveal something to me, but what?  My first thought was that it involved loss, and I started to think in the negative, that maybe I was going to lose something, and I started to worry that it might be my spiritual garments of praise or salvation, but where did the cat fit in?  I decided that the best thing that I could do would be to pray to the Lord about it and wait on Him for answers.

About a week later I had another dream.  This time I was in a town, and I was looking for wedding clothes.  I had been looking in many shops and could not seem to find anything suitable.  After much searching I met a lady whom I recognized.  She lived near me, and her name was Grace.  I told her I was looking for wedding clothes and she said that she had some that I could borrow.  In my dream she lived at the top of a very high apartment building, and she went up to fetch the clothes for me.  When I looked at them I saw that they were extremely nice wedding clothes and took them, telling her that I would look after them.  I then started walking through the busy shopping area of the town, still looking at clothes, carrying Grace's clothes in a large bag.  I found nothing so I went further out away from the town looking, still nothing.  I returned once again to the town but could find nothing I wanted.

After quite some time I suddenly realized that the bag was missing.  I must have put it down somewhere and forgotten to pick it up again.  I started to worry because the clothes belonged to Grace, and I knew I had to go to her and tell her what had happened.   I felt terrible because I knew they were very expensive clothes, and regretted being so careless with them.   I went to the apartment building and rang the bell at the bottom.  Grace came down and I told her what had happened.  Although she was sad about it she was very forgiving and said that it was alright, that I was not to worry.  I realized that I had to find more wedding garments and I started to look again but could find none that I liked in all the stores. 


I then thought about a place that I had already been to, it was a small store that was away from the busy town, out in the quiet of the countryside.  Maybe I would find something there if I looked again, I thought.  I walked through the town, past all the stores that I had searched in, out to the very edge of the town and a little way down a quiet country lane to the store.  I went in and looked around but could find nothing there for the wedding I was to attend.  I started to make my way out of the door when the sales lady said 'Excuse me, you left this here the last time you were here'.  I turned and looked and saw that she held in her hand the bag with the wedding clothes from Grace in it.  I could hardly believe it and was overjoyed to have found them again.  I thanked the sales lady and made my way back to the town to tell Grace that I had found them.  When I got to the apartment building where she lived, the door was open.  I went inside, climbed the stairs, found Grace and told her the good news, that I had found the wedding clothes that she had given me.  She smiled, said she was very happy and I went on my way, telling her that this time I would look after them.

Over the next few days I started to realize what the Lord was trying to reveal to me through the dreams. The first dream represented my initial coming to the Lord, a putting off the old way of life, the clothes representing the grave clothes of the wisdom of this world, and the cat representing the natural things that I loved and adored.   God and His word to me had to come first in my life no matter what.  The wisdom and the pulls of this world must no longer govern me.

There is a peace within my soul no riches could have bought it

I found it not in wealth or fame in wretchedness I sought it

This peace that passes understanding peace that I can call my own

Can not be found in all the world, It's found in Jesus Christ alone

The second dream represented my being given the wedding clothes, and the fact that I had been given them by grace, when Jesus had come into my life as my Saviour and my guide.  Even the fact that Grace lived in a high apartment was, to me, showing the majesty of God.

I began to realize that the Lord was portraying a warning in this dream that I was, or could be in danger of, letting the busyness of this world distract me, and it could cause me to lose my wedding clothes, my garments of salvation.  I thought about my life and how I had ceased to pray in the Spirit as fervently as I used to, slowly losing the close contact that I had always had with the Lord from the moment I had been born again of His Spirit.  It was as if I was carrying my garments of salvation in a bag instead of wearing them.



I had been sustained in sickness and finances for several years by the Lord, experiencing miraculous healings and being supplied with all that my husband and I needed,with His word being my guide.  Yet it was as if I had almost begun to think negatively, allowing the voice of this world to question what God was saying, and the Lord's promises seemed as far away and mislaid as the missing bag of wedding garments in the second dream.  When I had first come to the Lord God had spoken the words 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved, you and your household' to me.  Then the words 'Take every thought into captivity' had been spoken to me, and 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not lean on your own understanding'.  I had listened and been very close to the Lord, being guided by Him and taking everything opposing His words into captivity.  I had been wonderfully in His preaence, and kept in good health.  Now I realized that I had let the world slowly encroach into my life.  I had stopped taking every thought into captivity.  Ones that did not confess what Christ and His words said to me had been allowed to cause doubts that all things were possible with God, or even that God was wanting my welfare in this world.   The dreams had come with the perfect timing of God, and I was being shown that there was a battle going on in me between the light of God's words in the renewed mind of Christ in the newly created me, and the darkness of the thoughts in the carnal mind of the old me.

At the time of the dreams I actually was searching for wedding clothes to wear to my son's wedding, which was to take place in Scotland.  I eventually found an outfit, a light skirt and a dark top.  Even these clothes seemed to reflect what was going on in my life, a mixture of the light of faith and the darkness of doubt.  The wedding over, I returned to Wales, stopping overnight at my cousin's house in Lancashire.  While there, I went into a shop and noticed a little scented candle in a jar with a china lamp shade that sat on the jar.  It was very pretty and I decided to buy it.  As I was carrying it to the till I noticed the label on the front of the jar had the words 'Believe.  All things are possible'.  I knew the Lord was encouraging me to do this because I had been singing a little song over and over at the time in which were the words 'all things are possible with You Lord'.  Incredibly, at the same time, a song was playing in the shop, from which flowed the words, 'I need you to be my guide'.

When I returned home, the following Sunday morning I was in the prayer meeting before the service at the church I was attending when the pastor spoke out regarding whether we really believe that God will do that which He has promised to do in our lives.   I shared with the people at the prayer meeting about the candle lamp, saying that I believed the Lord was encouraging us to keep the light of the truth of God's promises burning, casting out any thoughts from our minds which would cause doubt and rob us of those promises, and I prayed for the Lord to help all of us to take every thought into captivity, opposing doubtful thoughts by declaring 'The Lord has said..'. 

The word 'paragon' was brought to my mind several times, it was on a white van which was in the church car park and also in ;the garage opposite my house as I was writing this testimony.  When I looked up the meaning of the word, one of the things the dictionary  said it meant was 'a pattern of perfection, a model, a person or thing of supreme excellence'.  Jesus is perfection, and a paragon is what we shall become if we truly believe on Him, putting Him first in our lives, listening to and acting upon His word to us as it is spoken..

In my second dream, when I had lost the clothes and I had to go to tell Grace, the door was shut, representing my separation from God by letting the things of this world distract me from the things of God.   The fact that there was a doorbell reminded me that through Jesus there remains a connection through prayer in these times, God responding being represented by Grace coming down to open the door.   Even Grace being sad but telling me not to worry represented to me God's love, long suffering and forgiving nature when we fail Him.   The second time I approached the home of Grace to say that I had found the wedding clothes, the door was open and I went up to her.  This reminded me of the prodigal son and his Father's open armed welcome once the son had repented and was on his way back.  Even the place where the clothes were found spoke to me of finding grace in that quiet place of prayer.

For some time after I was reminded of weddings and wedding clothes and I realized that the whole of what had happened over the previous couple of weeks was encouraging me to draw closer to God in prayer, throw off the grave clothes of the wisdom of this world, put on my garments of salvation , and believe that all things are possible with God, including complete physical healing.

I believe that this testimony has been brought to my attention to once again increase intercessory prayer in my life as it once used to be.  Something happened a couple of days ago that painted a picture of what is happening to cause much unbelief amongst God's people today.

I was looking on Google for help to see street views and came accross what I thought was a download that would do this. 


I ended up downloading a search engine called 'Babylon'.  'How did I end up with this'? I thought, and wondered why I felt so uncomfortable that it was on my screne.  Then I realized that, as well as simply not liking the change, and the fact that I still didn't seem able to view the street maps, the name 'Babylon' brought disturbing thoughts to mind.   I was reminded once again of a parallel between the Lord's people being in Babylon in Daniel's time.  Babylon is the Greek form of Babel, which means 'confusion', and I believe that the church is in danger of  being in the spiritual Babylon, a state of confusion by mixing man's doctrine with God's doctrine and not believing every word that comes out of the mouth of God.  By Daniel not eating the 'rich' food of the king of Babylon, and just eating the 'vegetables' with nothing added to them, He remained in communication with God and was protected by Him in the 'fire'.   

I believe the Lord is encouraging me to believe absolutely everything that He speaks to me will come to pass.......if I only believe it.